Thursday, May 6, 2010

Just takes One...

I hate having to go to the BBC for any kind of "real" news....

Did you hear that Freddie Mac is asking for MORE of our money? Me either.....

The US media is almost another form of taxation....totally voluntary - but it takes money from us and uses it to do damage to our Country. It outright lies - omits important information - and if the story changes, the followup story is usually ignored.

For example - the Hutaree Militia.... Did you know that a judge ordered 9 members released stating "that prosecutors did not demonstrate that the defendants would pose a danger if released."

This is not to say that they are innocent....but they havent been found to be guilty either....

Back to how the Media supports itself. We either pay for it, but mostly its money comes from Advertisers. I have been sorely disappointed with U.S. Business. It used to be that CEO's were cowboys. Men (and Women) who took chances, took on the odds, saw a dream and followed a vision....

Today, they are wussies who seem to rather run to the Government, be coddled, petted, abused, all for approval - a dysfunctional, disgusting relationship.

I want a Company who, when called before Congress, gives those high and mighty Senators the what for. Who would be willing to uncover secrets and tell the American Citizen the truth about those that govern.

I want a Company who goes on National TV and tells what they have done (good or bad) and who was involved in our Government. Who runs an ad that states exactly how much they have given to the current President's 2008 campaign and exactly what was "understood" by the exchange of funds.

I want a Company who takes on the Unions.... Who lets them strike and FIRES EACH AND EVERY ONE or moves to a Right To Work state to make a point! Who lists names, deeds, threats, payoffs.

This bucking the system is one reason we drive Fords. I have always admired Henry (yes, I know he had some Jerk tendencies). I have admired he was the last to offer payment terms for his cars. He didnt want to put his customers in debt. He felt that if they couldnt write a check for his car, they couldnt afford them. Long have I told my Hubs that if there is a company who stands up to the Unions, it will be Ford. Its a family company and as such, has the most to lose.

And from the way the sales figures are stacking up, America seems to agree with me!

Look - we are a forgiving Nation.... Get in front of something - confession - sincerely apologize - demonstrably walk a new path. Who wouldnt get behind a CEO - A company - that does this?

CEOs dont have the Constitution at the top of their lists - they should because would there be the company without it? Probably not.... How many of these Fortune 500 companies were started in the U.S.A.?

Sorry - sidetracked.... CEO's have their shareholders and profit at the top of their lists - that is totally fine - but they need to be wedded with Integrity. Some companies have it (Chick-Fil-A, Hobby Lobby) and some companies (Enron, Gold/Sach, AIG) dont. But their bottom line would SKYROCKET if one company took on this Government - it only takes one.

The first Company will win big (it also may get hammered hard by .Gov). But when other Companies catch on it will be a domino effect and therefore less get hammered.

I know the promises are huge to stay with the Government - threats of exposure - promises of contracts or policy - but this system is not sustainable. Do these companies really think that the Government is going to honor anything promised while Rome is burning? It wont - those people in Washington will look out for themselves (as always) and let everything else go....including you precious CEOs.

It only takes one.... One CEO - one Cowboy - one Family Company - One that wants to come clean.... Just One.

Pray - Praise - Prepare

5 comments:

Brad K. said...

Pearls,

I . . don't like it.

The concept of company you reminisce about comes from the past, when company identity was important. A few companies today still have a "company culture" that embraces employees and customers. There are still the "old line" companies from before WWII that take seriously their role as a member of their community, that see hiring a worker as a life-long relationship, that expect customers to buy from them because they know the company. OshKosh of Wisconsin, and Apple Computer are two that I can think of right now. Neither seem to be interested in the governments we have had recently. Most prefer to keep their heads down, and their industry free of government "help".

And since the Democratic inherited the notion of being a champion for the minority and little guy, they have been abusing that reputation, buying votes with government programs and interventions - and attacking anyone or any company not seen as "poor" and "downtrodden".

The big money in products, though, has been invested in "brand loyalty" and "brand recognition" for their relationship with the customer. The fact that there is a company behind KFC, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, MSNBC, or Dawn (dish soap) is hidden. Perhaps the attacks on Proctor and Gambles (weren't they the ones with a moon in their logo, that so incensed the witch-hunting Moral Majority?) had something to do with companies wanting to hide themselves behind their brands. Perhaps the government breakup of ATT back in the day showed companies what happens when the government became aware of them - the recent examples of GM and Chrysler come to mind as well.

It used to be that companies didn't churn through workers. Hire for a project or a product, lay them off after a few months or years when the company changed plans - and shut down plants, divisions, and projects for tax benefits, rather than investing in the skills and experience of a workforce they nurtured for decades. There are social as well as tax reasons for making this kind of change, but companies no longer inspire worker and community loyalty beyond the current fiscal year.

I don't think we can count on a major company to make a significant change - did you see the FCC is planning to reclassify wideband ISP's so they get to regulate them now (the announcement is supposed to be made today). As long as Congress and the Supreme Court are unwilling to check the abuses of authority of this and future administrations, and as long as voters and states are unwilling to hold Representatives and Senators individually responsible (as in, recall elections and disavowal/denial of seat) for improper execution of office - well, we are all kinda left holding the bag.

I do caution you, that bit about companies moving to right to work states is a very bad strategy right now. The Congress and this administration are on record as wanting the Card Check and other pro-union issues banned in right to work states - reinstituted from the federal level. Oklahomans may have voted right to work, but ObamaCare is at least partly about unionizing hospital and health care workers, and should be overturning state-level rights to work. Other, more explicit legislation has been proposed and is in the works in Congress, and the administration is proceeding by fiat on their own hook to stick unions where union bosses want to go.

There may be no place in America a company could move, to escape the taxation and regulations unions impose on a business' ability to do business and survive.

The time is now to start recall petitions, to bring suit for redress of grievance against the government, to investigate whether states can unseat Senators - since Illinois showed how to sell Senate seats. We could bring this and future administrations and Congresses to account. We could.

Mayberry said...

I find that 90% of real news comes from the UK, or the blogosphere. American "news" outlets are controlled by the beast, and are part of it.

Ryan said...

Pearls, The thing I love about the free market is that it does not rely on people having "integrity" or values. (Of course we need a legal system to enforce contracts, punish fraud and such) It relies on each and every individual or company going out and just doing what is best for them, hang values, hang their neighbor, just them. The fact that everybody is just out for their own direct and selfish interest means they will only do what they think is best for them. They will trade value for value and each party will be better off because the deal is done.

I picture it sort of like a tug of war but with a hundred ropes all tied together at one point. Even the biggest strongest NFL lineman can't move things very far when 99 people are also pulling their own way.

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